“Barnstormers Help Restore Biehl Family Barn – Mail Pouch Barnstormers Lend a Hand“
by Bill Vint – Summer 2018 edition of the ‘Mail Pouch Barnstormers’ newsletter
For decades, the old black barn sitting alongside Ohio Route 26 in Moss Run, Ohio, about 11 miles north of Marietta, has been a landmark for Ohio’s rural travelers. Not just because of the “Mail Pouch Tobacco: Treat Yourself to the Best” signs that prominently sent its message to travelers from two sides, but because it also marked the stopping point for visitors to the Biehl General Store across the road.
Like so many historic barns bearing the original artwork of noted Mail Pouch barn painter Harley Warrick, age caught up with the old barn, so in 2017, Penny Biehl and her sister, Lisa Almond, decided to bring the old barn back to its original glory, and they applied for assistance from the Mail Pouch Barnstormers.
As part of the organization’s ongoing mission to preserve and restore historic Mail Pouch signs, a $1,000 grant was approved, and this year, the Biehl family barn is being recognized as the Barnstormers’ featured barn.
During the summer of 2017, noted mural painter Ruston Baker climbed ladders and scaffolds to restore the barn as Richard Biehl, 85; wife Martha, 86, and their daughters watched.
The significance of the project wasn’t lost on Janelle Patterson, a reporter with The Marietta Times, who wrote a revealing feature story. Among her notes:
● “They used chestnut lumber when my father built the barn (in 1935),” Richard Biehl told Patterson. “And I put a new roof on it in 1980. We used to have cattle in there. It was a working barn.”
● “We would spend time sitting in the store just watching people go by,” said Martha. “I’d play solitaire down here and people would stop to talk with us.”
● “It’s even a stop on the fall foliage tour each year,” said daughter Lisa. “People stopped all the time to take photos and talk with Mom and Dad.”
● “I used to play basketball on the side of the barn,” said Penny. “It brings back so many memories.”
The daughters first heard of the restoration work being done on preserved barns across the Midwest through an article in Country Living magazine, Patterson noted.
“There was this group called the Mail Pouch Barnstormers providing grants to (help) pay for the preservation of these historic barns,” explained Almond. “We called them right up and they told us we were selected for this year’s grant.”
The grant paid for the paint; the Biehls supplied the cost for Baker to do the painting.
“I knew Harley Warrick, the original painter,” said Baker. “So even though the work I usually do is more intricate, I have a soft spot for preserving his work.”
Baker said the barn was in good condition and only needed seven boards replaced before the new paint went on.
“The wood warps, but that’s part of the character of the thing,” Baker said. “It’s an ode to the past and the simpler time.”
Cole Wengerd of Millersburg also played a key role in the barn’s restoration, replacing some eave spouting and then assisting Baker with board replacements and painting. He also understood the historic nature of the project; his business – specializing in slate roofing – has roots reaching back to the late 1800s.
Part of the reason for the barn’s good condition was the fact that Richard Biehl had it re-painted every four years until 1988 when Harley Warrick painted it for the last time before its restoration painting in 2017.
In 1993, the family decided to close its legendary general store. The store, which dated back to simpler times, offered a little bit of everything its rural customers needed. It also served as the postal stop where local residents picked up their mail, and it was a gathering place for mourners attending funerals.
“Like Walmart, we had everything…”
An auction held at the store closing drew long-time customers and visitors who came to witness the end of an era, bidding on relics, signs and products dating back to the 1940s.
As the Barnstormers’ featured barn for 2018, the club has created a special “woodie” designed by Cat’s Meow, an embroidered emblem designed by AB Emblems and the traditional postcard with unique indicia designed by Barnstormers’ president Roger Warrick, the son of the late Harley Warrick. All of the special merchandise items will be available online (mailpouchbarnstormers.org/store) and at the Barnstormers’ annual meeting, picnic and fund-raising auction July 28 in Belmont, Ohio.
All proceeds from the sale of merchandise items help replenish the club’s sign restoration and preservation fund.
For more on this barn, please see MPB 35-84-12.
